When Gloria Shacklett Christy and Katie Blankenship heard about the imminent demolition of the Red Rose, they joined forces in hopes of saving the building for the arts. Christy, president of Uncle Dave Macon Days, and Blankenship, satellite music director of YEAH! (Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities) are both music preservationists of sorts—Christy, through her tireless efforts to keep roots music alive, and Katie, through her work to teach rock music to the next generation of musicians.
Sadly, neither anticipated the state of disrepair the building was in. Known to locals as “the Rose,” it had stood vacant and unmaintained for several years before the City of Murfreesboro finally took action.
According to a petition circulating since January by Josh Bright to Save the Rose, the City of Murfreesboro issued a letter to Red Rose owners at the end of last year, warning them that they have 90 days to repair the building or it will be demolished.
Blankenship and Christy tried to halt what some consider progress.
“We talked to realtor Larry Sims,” said Katie, “who explained many of the issues to us, including the dilapidated state of the café area and the lack of parking for future tenants.”
The well-traveled Murfreesboro native went on to explain the importance of the history surrounding the Red Rose, and she didn’t mention The Features even once.
“This road,” Katie said, drawing on a napkin a rough sketch of the Y intersection of West Lytle St. and West College St., “was Gasoline Alley in the 1920s because of the gas station that is also part of the property.” According to Gloria, also of Shacklett’s Photography, their business has a photograph from the time Gasoline Alley stopped just past the gas station connected to the café that was home to area artists and musicians in the 1980s and 1990s.
Pointing to the other arm of the Y, Blankenship said, “And this was the Old Dixie Highway, making this even more historically significant.”
While many think that Broad St. was the Dixie Highway, it was not the original, which was actually West College St. or what was once known as the Old Nashville Hwy. As West College breaks at Broad St. and continues on the other side, this was the only part of Broad St. involved in the Old Dixie Hwy. until you got to the south side of town.
The original Dixie Hwy. was a major vacation and tourist route from the North to Florida in the ’20s and ’30s, bringing people through Murfreesboro to gamble at the casinos on the Square and enjoy what we now call roots music performed by the known and unknown.
photos by Russ Hilliard
That is one thing that never changed when the Rose was a thriving business during the ’80s and ’90s. Bands of local and national renown have played this small venue off and on over the years. When leasers changed, the theme remained basically the same; it was a café with a coffee shop vibe, featuring the work of local artists and the sounds of local musicians.
The fact that a locally owned business couldn’t make it past the age of Starbucks expansion follows a similar trend to the closing of pharmacies due to the explosive growth of Walgreen’s and CVS, and the availability of cheap prescriptions at megastores such as Walmart and grocery store chains.
The building’s original use was as a creamery built to use the milk produced on the Red Rose dairy farm located in Walter Hill. According to Dr. Bill Shacklett—the oldest living physician in Murfreesboro—the Red Rose Creamery once sold ice cream for a nickel. Brothers John (Gloria and “young” Bill’s dad) and a young Dr. Shacklett worked at the popular creamery. Their sister, Sarah Shacklett Tinsley, who moved from Murfreesboro in the ’50s with her husband to Marietta, Ga., says, “They had the most wonderful ice cream in the world. They made cheese and cottage cheese too, but everybody made their own cottage cheese back then.”
When asked whether or not it was a meat and three, Tinsley answered that it was more like a sandwich shop with a soda fountain. The dairy products were made in the back and sold out front.
The popularity of the products might have been because of the fresh milk from which it was made. Once a booming dairy community, Murfreesboro was home to the Carnation plant, located at the corner of what is now Old Fort Pkwy. and Broad St. where its smokestack still stands.
“Gloria might not know this,” Tinsley giggled, “but when he was eight years old, her dad used to ride a horse and buggy into town with the milk from the farm on Sulpher Springs Rd. to the Carnation plant.”
More than just land use has changed since the Red Rose was built. Its architecture alone has made the Rose a favorite of art deco fans, as few businesses remain in the popular style of the 1920s. This prime example was once a showpiece of our community—a tourist destination for those who travel the Old Dixie Hwy. for fun and recreation. Another large tourist draw in our community—Stones River National Battlefield—is also located on the Old Dixie Hwy. less than five miles from the Red Rose.
Larry Sims, the realtor representing the property, was contacted for this article. He was hoping to have news about the status of the property by the time we went to press, but was awaiting word from one of the four property owners.
When Blankenship and Christy realized the amount of money that would be required to buy the property and bring it up to codes level—estimated at $2.5 million—they saw the handwriting on the wall.
Fortunately, all is not lost. Gloria said, “I had to decide whether I was going to put my efforts toward preserving the music or preserving this building.” Both she and Katie have chosen the music. Meanwhile, although part of the building may be demolished by the time this is published, the gas station is hoped to be preserved, representing many of those who came before us and made Murfreesboro what it is today.
I was asking around about this building a few months ago and never got any responses. Apparently, I wasn’t asking the right people.
The architecture is beautiful. It’s very sad that it has to be demolished. It would make an excellent art gallery… or anything else for that matter.
If there is any way to keep it alive, someone let me know. I’d be interested in helping in any way possible.
Comment March 3, 2011 @ 7:27 pm
When I was in town last September for a friends wedding I called the number and tried to get in touch with the property owners and the Realtor, no one would return my calls. If i had the money to invest in the revamping of the space i would have gladly done so. The Red Rose was my home away from home for the better part of my youth. I know for a fact that there were investors, (who had the money needed), that also got no call backs from the powers at be. My reason for trying to get in touch was to properly ask if i would be aloud to remove what was left of the “View From A Coffee Cup” Mural, It was my goal to remove and then restore it, or even return it to the original artist. It truly saddened me that I did not receive a call back, despite multiple calls. The demolition of this history pains me to the core, but i also know that it was inevitable. I just as Liz in the first comment above, would be more than willing to do what i can to preserve even a part of The Rose. I have often considered writing a book filled with the history and peoples memories and stories from that time when The Red Rose was a place where people of all ages could go enjoy an afternoon/evening of great music, food, coffee, and conversation. I have many life long friends that I met at the Rose. Its memory will live on in all who had the wonderful opportunity to experience it. I give a toast to the ending of an era.
Comment March 3, 2011 @ 9:26 pm
I WANT TO SAVE IT FOR OUR GALLERY! Is it too late? I have some interested people…….. Any contact inf? We lost our gallery home, I want that building.
Comment March 3, 2011 @ 11:30 pm
Oh my god!!! For the life of me I can’t understand how this could happen or how it could be allowed to happen…. I am another one of many who spent the majority of my free time at the Rose…. I feel like a part of me has been destroyed!!! I am outraged and heartbroken at the same time….. I basically LIVED there….. I still talk about it all the time and how one of my biggest dreams is to open a shop like it… a place where you can escape from the hectic world outside and just sit back and relax, laugh, and fall in love. There was so much always going on at the Rose. there was always good music, beautiful artwork, and wonderful people around. You could litterally feel the day melt away as soon as you walked in the door. No matter how bad the day had gone, you always left with a smile on your face. There will never be another place like it….
Comment March 4, 2011 @ 10:11 am
That sucks!!!!!!! I used to hang out there with my friends quite some time ago. It was awesome and now they’re tearing it down! What a shame. It will be missed by many. 🙁
Comment March 4, 2011 @ 11:09 am
Would it be too late to hold a fundraiser?
Comment March 4, 2011 @ 6:22 pm
@ Liz, I think that yes it might be to late, another thing i was thinking about is even if people cant give money, what we should have thought of sooner would have been to donate time and possibly resources to help clean it up. I know how much money it would have taken to get it up to code, but if we had thought of this a few years ago, we could have taken the baby steps to have gotten it back in shape. Sadly enough this idea has come a little to late i fear.
@ Val and Lynne Thanks for adding your kind words.
@ Chris I can only think that you could call and ask the people at the Pulse if they have any info they could share with you.
Comment March 4, 2011 @ 8:01 pm
Thanks for your comments about the Red Rose. The only contacts I have are for Larry Sims Realty and City of Murfreesboro Planning Director Joseph Adylott, both of which are published numbers. Good luck.
Comment March 5, 2011 @ 12:44 pm
It’s really too bad that in a city that has done so much good for historic preservation, we are seeing such a building destroyed. How much money and political connection does it take to save a thing which needs to be saved?Shame on the people who are doing this. The people obviously love the building and are willing to support it financially, but there is something more powerful than funding that will allow it to die. Goodbye Red Rose…
Comment March 6, 2011 @ 6:39 pm
Update: there has been no permit issued for demolition of The Red Rose. That information came from The City’s Planning Director.
I thought everyone might want to know. If we could get in touch with the owners to see if they would be willing to let someone hold a fundraiser, saving The Rose might be a very real possibility.
Comment March 7, 2011 @ 9:45 am
This is truly sad. I found the Rose when I first moved to Murfreesboro. I met a wonderful girl there that I shared love with for a time. I met many wonderful people there as a matter of fact. I enjoyed days of drawing and working on poetry at the Rose. It will truly be missed. I will never forget that place.
I hope and pray that something can be done to save the Rose.
Comment March 9, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
When I first moved to the Boro, I saw the Red rose, then the end corner was an ethnic bakery…nice, popped in a few times and i did my “I like down the street” part for local businesses. Down the years, I became a chef and the Red Rose kept popping into my mind. That would be a perfect speakeasy themed dinnerclub: live band, full bar, a menu period specific to mid 20’s Chicago or NY… but I could never find any backers. oh well. Some places are better as dreams I guess.
Comment March 12, 2011 @ 8:05 am
My Uncle Ed Curlee was employed by the Red Rose for years. He used to deliver ice cream across the state. I am very interested in any kind of fundraiser or movement to save the rose. I drove by there today while visiting Murfreesboro. Although I have never been inside, it brought back fond memories. My son once suggested opening some type of coffee shop there as before. I have seen modern dairy farms with their own ice cream and sandwich shops along with novelties. Can this place not be restored to historically depict the 20s? Are there not historic preservation grants available?
Comment March 12, 2011 @ 9:01 pm
I always had Easter Bunny ice cream molds at my birthday parties from Red Rose. It was a treat to pick them up before the party. (My birthday was always at Easter). Sad indeed.
Comment March 17, 2011 @ 8:56 pm
Wow. Everyone is sad. No one wants to do anything.
I’ve written a few blogs about my interest in helping to fix The Red Rose.
If you want to read about the information I’ve gotten or the progress I’ve made.
Here is the latest one:
http://lizkzook.blogspot.com/2011/03/red-rose-update.html
Comment March 18, 2011 @ 4:59 pm
Has everyone that has commented here signed the petition???
Comment April 5, 2011 @ 3:11 pm
The mural artist is Benjamin W. Johnson and it was one of his early commissions in the late ’90s when he was a resident of Murfreesboro. The people in the scenes of the mural are family and friends, including fellow band-mates and his sister Rachel who was a staff photographer at the Murfreesboro Pluse arts newspaper for several years. He now has a tattoo studio in north Nashville, Electric Hand Tattoo.
Comment July 12, 2011 @ 10:40 pm
RIP Red Rose. Demolition began today. That sucks…..
Comment July 15, 2011 @ 4:07 pm